This project is nanced by

the European Commission

Authors: Pieter t Hart / Dick Schotte
HR Research Study:
Demographic Change & Skills Requirements
in the
European Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Industry
European Shipbuilding Social Dialogue Committee
European Metalworkers Federation
International Trade Union House (ITUH)
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)
B-1210 Brussels
Phone.: +32.2.227.10.10
Fax: +32.2.217.59.63
E-mail: emf@emf-fem.org
Website: www.emf-fem.org
Community of European Shipyards Associations
Rue Marie de Bourgogne 52-54
B-1000 Brussels
Phone: +32.2.230.27.91
Fax: +32.2.230.43.32
E-mail: info@cesa.eu
Website: www.cesa.eu
Pictures used with courtesy of Aker Yards; Lars Skaaning and Odense Steel Shipyard; Aker Yards France;
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH; Meyer Werft; ECSA (clockwise).
Graphic Design: Creatin
1
Table of Contents
1. Foreword ............................................................................................................................................ 2
2. Aim of the study................................................................................................................................ 3
3. Description of the project.............................................................................................................. 4
4. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 5
5. How to read the report ................................................................................................................. 7
6. Current size and structure of the European Shipbuilding Industry ...................................... 8
7. Forecast and outlook for the European Shipbuilding Industry ............................................18
8. Conclusions and recommendations ...........................................................................................32
Annex1: HR Research Study Working Group ..............................................................................37
Annex 2: Glossary of terms and questionnaire ...........................................................................38
Annex 3: List of interviewed persons ............................................................................................40
2
Foreword 1.
We have the great pleasure to present the following study which is the third joint project developed
by the European Metalworkers Federation (EMF) and the Community of European Shipyards
Associations (CESA) in the context of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee on
Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (SSDC). This HR study outlines a picture of the development of
demographic change and skills requirements in the European shipbuilding and ship repair sector
on the basis of national surveys and interviews.
In this process, companies, trade unions, works councils and national associations were consulted.
This project is, therefore, an excellent example of the type of dialogue possible that should be
intensied on national and international level in the future, if we want the issues described in this
report become reality.
Sometimes dissents may occur between shipyard management and representatives of trade unions
because of conicting interests. However, both sides have the same basic interest in that a healthy
sustainable European industry goes on in the future. For this, the European Shipbuilding Social
Dialogue Committee is an important vehicle towards a more common understanding between
shipyards and trade unions and should therefore intensify its work and provide a framework for
the social dialogue on regional and local level.
The study recommends looking for solutions regarding education and training as well as shortage
of personnel in the sector due to demographic change. This asks for constructive consideration,
with the goal to create solutions in time, taking outsourcing and image upgrading into account.
Wherever possible, the SSDC will fully support any initiative in this respect at European level,
however, the effective implementation has to be realised at national and company level.
Within the European Union, workers and companies benet from the freedom of movement.
However, different social standards within the community can also cause frictions, which the
social dialogue can help to solve. The European social partners therefore endeavour to address
the question of basic principles related to social standards. Such a dialogue will also make a
contribution to the positive public perception of the sector, which is essential for the recruitment
efforts of the shipyards.
On 5 and 6 June 2008, the results of this study will be presented at the HR workshop in Koudekerke
(NL), and based on this, best practice initiatives and programmes will be discussed. As a result,
the SSDC and the social partners at national level should be provided with recommendations for
building a framework for training and qualication policies in their future work that should be as
denite as possible.
We hope that, with this HR study and the subsequent workshop, we can smoothen the path of
HR policy for the European shipyards and social partners.
Henk van Beers Ruud Schouten
Chairman SSDC Vice-Chairman SSDC

Peter Scherrer Reinhard Lken
EMF General Secretary CESA Secretary General
3
Aim of the study 2.
The main aim of this project is to identify the problem relating to demographic change in the
European shipbuilding and ship repair industry with regard to skills requirements over the next
5 years and to provide an outlook for the next 10 to 15 years.
This study provides an analysis of the present situation as well as the future changes in the European
shipbuilding and ship repair sector in order to improve expertise in personnel management. By
obtaining an in-depth understanding, it is possible to assess the present and future impact of
demographic change and thus have a basis for eventually establishing a long-term strategy with
possible solutions for skills requirement in the shipyard sector, i.e. support of adaptability of
workers and lifelong learning strategies.
The project investigates the current HR structure in the European shipyards and ship repair
yards with regard to ageing, qualications and skills requirements in order to identify possible
measures for (re-)training management and gives a 5-year-forecast and a long-term outlook on
recruitment as well as skills shortage.
The social partners in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry have realised that the future of
their sector depends on productivity and competitiveness as well as on the qualication of the
workforce and developed this project which forms a core element of their work programme.
4
Description of the project 3.
The project consists of two main steps:
A research study leading to a report on the current situation, identifying the problems
and giving in-depth understanding. This report will be translated and published before
the European workshop.
A European HR workshop - bringing together social partners of the shipbuilding
and ship repair sector - to discuss the results of the study and exchange experience
on existing initiatives and reect on potential solutions for the future. A report will
summarise the speeches and subsume the results of the workshop.
5
Methodology 4.
The research study provides an aggregate age and qualication prole of the shipbuilding and
ship repair sector at European level collecting data in 14 CESA and EMF member countries,
namely Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom. In this report, these countries are referred to
as the EU-14 shipbuilding industry. The study comprises the following steps:
Denition of a limited number of major professions listed in a glossary in order to speak a.
a common language and make the professions comparable
HR data collection at national associations and shipyards in 14 CESA & EMF member b.
countries
Compilation and analysis of HR data for the next ve years c.
Integration of comments and amendments of the social partners d.
Approval by the Shipbuilding Social Dialogue Committee e.
Translation into German, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish. f.
Finishing and publication of the study report g.
The aggregation of data available at national level for the research study was carried out by two
HR experts with expertise of how shipyards are operated. The relevant data were collected by
distributing a questionnaire via the national associations. Subsequently, the HR experts travelled
to the countries involved and interviewed the social partners to obtain additional information on
the basis of the aggregated data.
The HR Research Study was divided into 4 Work Packages:
Work package 1 (Dec.2007 Jan. 2008)
The starting point for the study was the project preparation including the development of the
HR survey comprising a questionnaire and a glossary of the major professions in shipbuilding,
qualications and skills proles by a small working group, which consisted of the leading HR
expert and representatives of the social partners at CESA and the EMF (see annex 1). Before
sending out the questionnaire and starting the HR survey, the HR departments of some large
shipyards in Germany, The Netherlands and France were asked to test and assess the draft
questionnaire in advance.
Work Package 2 (Jan. 2008 Mar. 2008)
The nal questionnaire and a supporting glossary of terms were sent out to the national
associations and several shipyards to accumulate quantitative data on the shipbuilding industry
and gain insight in the requirements per country and per type of shipyard (see annex 2). In the
same letter, the contact persons were informed about the planned interviews in the countries
scheduled in March and April 2008 with the qualitative data from the questionnaires used as
a basis for the discussions in the countries. It was suggested to activate national working
groups for this purpose consisting of responsible (HR) representatives of the shipyards and
also to invite a member of the social partners, since the study is a joint co-operation between
CESA and the EMF.
6
Work Package 3 (Mar. 2008 Apr. 2008)
Interviews were held with representatives of national associations, shipyards and trade unions
of Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania
and Spain. During the interviews, the results of the questionnaires were evaluated and trends
and developments in HR in shipbuilding were extensively discussed. An overview of interviewed
persons is provided in annex 3.

Work Package 4 (Apr. 2008 May 2008)
The last phase of the HR study encompassed the analysis of the interviews and the writing of
the report. The rst draft report was distributed for evaluation and commenting by the working
group and the social partners/SSDC members. The nal report was ready by mid May 2008.

The HR research study was nalised before the HR workshop since it will form the basis and
starting-point for the discussions at the conference which are expected to lead to the possibility
of building a frame for training and qualication policies.
7
How to read the report 5.
The rst ve chapters of the report provide the introduction to this study with its aim, description
of work and working methodology. Chapter 6 provides an overview of the current situation in the
European shipbuilding and ship repair industry with regard to Human Resource developments.
Chapter 7 gives insight in the future developments in Human Resources based on the results
of the questionnaires as well as the interviews with representatives of the various European
shipbuilding countries. Finally, Chapter 8 gives an overview of the conclusions of the results of the
questionnaires and interviews as well as some recommendations for future actions.
The blue graphs in the report are derived from Eurostat data, orange graphs indicate the present
status of the EU-14 shipbuilding industry, purple graphs provide an overview of the expected
need in shipbuilding and nally the red graphs give information on nances.
In the report, some paragraphs are written in italics. These paragraphs are quotations from other
publications and interviews held with representatives of national associations, member shipyards,
works councils and/or trade unions.
8
Current size and structure of the 6.
European Shipbuilding Industry
The European shipbuilding industry is very diverse in company size and structure. The company
workforces range from tenths to thousands of employees. Some shipyards focus on new building
of ships, others on repair and maintenance. Some shipyards focus on specic innovative ship
types, others focus on process innovation, building a variety of ship types. Some shipyards build
for commercial clients, others for consumers or governments. Although there is an enormous
variety in companies and their workforces, they are all engaged in the shipbuilding industry.
The shipbuilding industry is internationally oriented and cyclic in nature. At present, more than
three hundred European shipyards are experiencing the biggest shipbuilding boom over the
last 40 years, with an accompanying boom in maintenance, repair and conversion work on the
existing eet. The image of shipbuilding is good and still improving.
0 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 12,500 15,000 17,500 20,000
Germany
France
Poland
Romania
Netherlands
Italy
Croatia
Spain
United Kingdom
Finland
Denmark
Greece
Portugal
Malta
New building
Repair
Other
Figure 1: EU-14 Shipbuilding total workforce
The European shipbuilding industry is a high-tech industry providing direct employment for more
than 150,000 people in Europe. Subcontractors, indirect employment and temporary personnel
are not included in this gure. Fig. 1 provides an overview of the total number of shipbuilding
employees per country subdivided into new building, repair and other activities.
9
Based on the results of the questionnaires, the total workforce in the 14 countries participating
in the HR research study (EU-14 shipbuilding industry) is about 127,500 people. About 100,000
people are active in new building, 22,000 people work in ship repair and maintenance services
and 5,500 people work in other activities such as specialised shipbuilding carpentry or marine
mechanical and/or electrical engineering. Of these 127,500 people working in the EU-14
shipbuilding industry 103,000 people are dened as technical employees (81%) working in
technical sales, after sales, design, engineering, work preparation and production.
Since the shipbuilding industry as original equipment manufacturer has a strong focus on
subcontracting, it is estimated that at least 600,000 people are employed directly and indirectly
in the European industry sector.
The Spanish Shipbuilding industry is presently healthier than ever. Although the pay-roll employment
amounts to about 8,000 workers, the number of subcontractor employees directly involved in the
shipbuilding is high and growing rapidly. The total number of pay-roll employees plus subcontractor
employees reaches the gure of 15,000 to 17,000 persons. So about 100% of the workforce is also
employed in the industry through subcontracting. (Source: Interview Uninave April 2008)
Demographic situation and forecast for the European workforce 6.1
The ageing workforce in Europe provides an enormous challenge. Although the total population
of the EU-25 will only fall slightly by 2050, Eurostat projections, which form the basis for Fig. 2,
show that the age structure will change dramatically.
17,1
14,4
13,3
13
10,5
9,7
36,9
31,1
28,2
17,2
21,3
18,5
15,8
22,7
30,3
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2000 2025 2050
over 65 yrs
50 - 64 yrs
25 - 49 yrs
15 - 24 yrs
under 14 yrs
Figure 2: EU-25 demographics 2000 /2025 / 2050
10
By 2050, the EU will have lost 48 million people of working age (15- to 64-year-olds) and will have
gained 58 million pensioners (65 and over). This means that fewer workers will pay for more pensions.
From four people of working age supporting one pensioner in 2004, this ratio will drop to two to one by
2050. (Source: European Economy News January 2006).
Demographic situation in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry 6.2
A comparison of the present results of the age distribution in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry
with the entire European workforce based on the available Eurostat data (2004) shows that the
EU-14 shipbuilding industry has a slightly older workforce than the European totals.
11%
12%
36%
39%
40%
38%
13%
12%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
EU Shipbuilding
EU total
employment
Q1. under 25 yrs
Q1. 25 - 40 yrs
Q1. 41- 55 yrs
Q1. over 55 yrs
Figure 3: EU-25 total workforce versus EU-14 Shipbuilding workforce.
Fig. 3 indicates that the European shipbuilding industry is not facing a more severe problem with
regard to ageing than the entire European workforce. When looking at the national gures in
more detail, there are quite some deviations to be noted. These gures are shown in Fig. 4 and
sorted by age group up to 40 years.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Italy
Romania
Poland
Greece
Croatia
EU
France
Denmark
Netherlands
Germany
United Kingdom
Finland
Spain
Malta
Portugal
Q1. under 25 yrs
Q1. 25 - 40 yrs
Q1. 41- 55 yrs
Q1. over 55 yrs
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Finland
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Denmark
Malta
Germany
Romania
Poland
EU
Portugal
Croatia
Greece
France
Italy
Spain
Q1. under 25 yrs
Q1. 25 - 40 yrs
Q1. 41- 55 yrs
Q1. over 55 yrs
Figure 4: EU-14 Shipbuilding technical workforce - age distribution under 40 years old
11
The average age distribution per country of the EU-14 shipbuilding industry is separately
indicated. Generally speaking (with the exception of Malta), the South-East European countries
have a relatively young workforce while the North-West European countries have a relatively
older workforce.
The Italian shipbuilding industry has the largest technical workforce below 40 years of age (67%).
There are many skilled workers between the ages of 25 to 40 with only 3% of the employees
older than 55 or younger than 25. The Portuguese shipbuilding industry has the oldest workforce
with almost 75% of the employees over 40 years of age. This situaton has developed due to
the fact that during the 1970s Portuguese shipyards had to make contract agreements that are
hampering the recruiting of new employees until today.
Only three countries have a shipbuilding workforce under 25 years that matches the average
European gures above (Romania, Poland and United Kingdom). Especially Romania has a large
workforce under 25 years of age (39%), which strongly contributes to the average age of people
working in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry under 25 years (11%).
Romania is one of the European countries were shipbuilding has a very good image. According to
the Romanian shipbuilding association Anconav, the need for skilled workers in Western Europe
and the United States of America as well as higher wages have led to a substantial demographic
move of shipbuilders towards these countries.
In 2006 and 2007, Romania lost about two thousand skilled workers per year due to this trend.
The high percentage of young people in Romania is therefore considered with some reservation,
since it usually takes about ve years of working experience in order to become a skilled
worker.
Outlook on shipbuilding workforce in the next ten to fteen years 6.3
The age distribution of the EU-14 shipbuilding workforce also provides an outlook on the next
10 to 15 years with regard to the shortage of personnel. Fig. 5 gives an overview of the age
distribution per country, sorted by the age group over 55 years. About 13% of the European
shipbuilding technical workforce is older than 55 years. Roughly speaking, this means that on an
annual basis about 1% of the European shipbuilding workforce will retire within the next ten to
fteen years.

Looking at their national gures, countries like Finland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands and
Denmark should consider serious investments in securing shipbuilding knowledge and skills,
since they are about to lose over 20% of their employees in the next ten to fteen years due to
retirement alone.
12
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Italy
Romania
Poland
Greece
Croatia
EU
France
Denmark
Netherlands
Germany
United Kingdom
Finland
Spain
Malta
Portugal
Q1. under 25 yrs
Q1. 25 - 40 yrs
Q1. 41- 55 yrs
Q1. over 55 yrs
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Finland
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Denmark
Malta
Germany
Romania
Poland
EU
Portugal
Croatia
Greece
France
Italy
Spain
Q1. under 25 yrs
Q1. 25 - 40 yrs
Q1. 41- 55 yrs
Q1. over 55 yrs
Figure 5: EU-14 Shipbuilding technical workforce - age distribution over 55 years old.
EU-25 Demographics versus Human Resources in Science and Technology 6.4
Eurostat also provides age pyramids for Human Resources in Science and Technology Core
(HRSTC) compared to the entire European workforce (Figure 6). HRSTCs are individuals who
have successfully completed their education at the third level in a science and technology eld of
study (Master of Science / Bachelor of Science) and are employed in a science and technology
occupation. Fig. 6 shows the total EU workforce as well as HRSTCs.

15,000,000 10,00,0000 5,000,000 0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000000 20,000,000
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65+
men HRSTC
men
women HRSTC
women
Figure 6: EU-25 Demographics and HRSTCs
13
The base of the age pyramid for the total workforce is smaller than the middle, indicating a possible
future scarcity of workers in the EU. However, looking at the HRSTC (MSc/BSc level), possible
future shortages of this highly productive labour force could be less severe than for other types of
employees. This is illustrated in Fig. 6 where the smaller HRSTC part bears much more resemblance
to a pyramid. The broadest part of the HRSTC pyramid is found in the age group 30-34, an age at
which the majority of the individuals in the workforce have completed their formal education.
(Source: Eurostat - statistics in focus - edition 11/2006)
Human Resources in Science and Technology Core in the EU-14 6.5
shipbuilding industry
The European shipbuilding industry is a high-tech industry, one indicator of which is the education
level of the high-skilled workforce working in this industry. Eurostat gures indicate that of
the entire European work population on average 15% of the employees belong to the Human
Resources in Science and Technology Core, having a tertiary education in science and technology
(MSc/BSc level) and being employed in a science and technology occupation.
In the EU-14 shipbuilding industry on average 19% of the employees have a tertiary education
in science and technology (MSc/BSc level). Fig. 7 gives an overview of the education level of
employees in the European shipbuilding industry sorted by MSc/BSc level.
The average gure of 15% HRSTC within the entire EU-25 workforce is represented in the graph
by Romania. This means that 11 out of the 14 European shipbuilding countries investigated show
an above average employment of people at MSc/BSc level.
From this graph we can observe that Spain, France and Finland have a shipbuilding workforce
with over 20% of the employees holding a Masters or Bachelors degree. Spain even reports 35%
of the people working in the Spanish shipbuilding industry with tertiary education.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Spain
France
Finland
Netherlands
Poland
EU
Croatia
Greece
Germany
Denmark
Portugal
Romania
United Kingdom
Italy
Malta
Q2. MSC/BSC
Q3. VOC
Q1. Basic
Figure 7: EU-14 shipbuilding workforce and HRSTC
14
Human resources at vocational level 6.6
Another indicator for the education level is the number of employees with a highly skilled
vocational training working in the industry. 66% of the employees working in the shipbuilding
industry have undergone vocational training and nished their studies with a vocational certicate.
During the interviews in the various EU shipbuilding countries, it became clear that vocational
training programmes greatly differ in each country.
Fig. 8 shows the same data as shown in Fig. 6 with the difference that the data below
are sorted according to basic education level. The graph shows that in 8 out of the 14
EU-shipbuilding countries all employees hold either a vocational certicate and/or an
MSc/BSc degree.
Based on the interviews, it is also concluded that, at present, all employees starting to work in
the European shipbuilding industry have either a vocational certcate or a Masters or Bachelors
degree. Employees without any vocational certicate or tertiary education are gradually
disappearing from the shipbuilding industry.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
France
Finland
Croatia
Greece
Germany
Portugal
Romania
Malta
Spain
EU
Denmark
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Italy
Poland
Q2. MSC/BSC
Q3. VOC
Q1. Basic
Figure 8: EU-14 shipbuilding workforce sorted by basic education level
15
Distribution of technical functions in the European shipbuilding industry 6.7
An indicator for the required qualications of employees in the shipbuilding industry is the
distribution of functions. In the glossary of terms (see annex 2), the technical professions in the
shipbuilding industry are divided into three major function areas:
sales and after sales (also referred to as sales)
e.g. estimators, account managers, proposal engineers, after sales managers
design and engineering (also referred to as design)
e.g. designers, naval architects, structural engineers, draughtsmen
work preparation and production (also referred to as production)
e.g. general planners, project managers, dockmasters, foremen, welders, tters
The differentiation between the function group production and the other two function groups
did not pose any problems. However, some respondents regarded the differentiation between
sales and design as unclear, since sales engineers and technical estimators can be regarded as
employees in either sales or design. Although the glossary of terms provides assistance in this
area, it has to be noted that the differences between sales and design activities are not always as
prominent in the day-to-day shipbuilding practice.
Distribution of functions for technical employees at all levels 6.8
Fig. 9 presents an overview of the distribution of functions for all technical employees working in
the European shipbuilding industry.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Netherlands
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Spain
EU
Germany
Portugal
Finland
Croatia
Poland
Romania
Malta
Denmark
Greece
sales
Q1. all design
Q1. all prod.
Figure 9: Distribution of technical functions for all levels of education
16
The EU-14 shipbuilding averages indicate that only 2% of the technical shipbuilding personnel
works in sales and after sales, 12% in design and engineering and 86% in work preparation and
production. In ve countries, more than 90% of the workforce is employed in work preparation
and production. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France have less than 80% of their
technical workforce employed in work preparation and production. The Netherlands, with the
least people employed in work preparation and production, still has over 70% of its technical
employees working in this area.
Distribution of functions for technical employees with a vocational training 6.9
The EU-14 shipbuilding average for people with a vocational training employed in work preparation
and production is even 91%. Eleven out of the EU-14 shipbuilding countries employ over 85% of
the technical workforce holding a vocational certicate in work preparation and production. The
distribution of functions for technical people with a vocational training is represented in Fig. 10.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Italy
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Poland
France
Denmark
EU
Germany
Portugal
Greece
Spain
Croatia
Romania
Malta
Finland
Q3. VOC sales
Q3.VOCdesign
Q3.VOC prod.
Figure 10: Distribution of technical functions for employees with a vocational training

Italy has the highest percentage of people with a vocational training working in design and
engineering activities (24%), followed by the United Kingdom (20%). The Netherlands has the
highest percentage of people with a vocational training working in sales and after sales activities
(5%).
17
Distribution of functions for technical employees at MSc/BSc level 6.10
The largest variety in functions is found at MSc/BSc level (see Fig. 11). The distribution of Master
of Science and Bachelor of Science functions is widely spread. The EU-14 shipbuilding average
indicates that almost 49% of the shipbuilders with a Masters or Bachelors degree are active in
the eld of work preparation and production. However, in the Greek shipbuilding industry 95% of
the people with an MSc/BSc degree work in production while in the Maltese shipbuilding industry
this gure is only 15%.
It is noted that the large European shipbuilding countries employ less than 25% of their tertiary
educated people in the area of work preparation and production. Only ve European countries
have more than 10% of their employees with a MSc/BSc degree employed in the area of sales
and after sales.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Italy
Germany
United Kingdom
EU
Finland
France
Portugal
Spain
Croatia
Denmark
Romania
Greece
Q2. MSC/BSC sales
Q2. MSC/BSC design
Q2. MSC/BSC prod.
Figure 11: Distribution of technical functions at MSc/BSc level
18
Forecast and outlook for the 7.
European Shipbuilding Industry
The European shipbuilding industry is internationally oriented and very cyclic in nature.
After some difcult years in 2003, 2004 and 2005, the European shipbuilding industry is presently
experiencing the biggest shipbuilding boom in the last 40 years.
The demand for a skilled shipbuilding labour force has therefore increased rapidly. This is enforced
by the trend that many baby boomers, born just after the Second World War, have just retired or
are about to retire in the coming years until 2010. This rapid development of need for personnel
cannot be solved by education and training alone. Education and training will usually take 2 to
5 years and although the need for personnel will certainly continue, this will not solve the
short-term problems of the shipyards today and tomorrow. At the moment, subcontracting and
employing people from other sectors in the Metal and Electrotechnical Industry are the best
ways to solve the problem of skills shortage.
In the questionnaire for this HR Research Study, national shipbuilding associations and shipyards
were asked to estimate the required annual need for technical personnel over the next ve years.
In this annual need both retirement of older personnel and natural migration of employees to
other companies had to be taken into account.
The total annual need for the European shipbuilding industry for new personnel is estimated at
11,000 people. This is almost 11% of the EU-14 shipbuilding technical workforce.
Although no European gures are available for the natural migration of employees, some estimate
this migration at about 4%, retirements not included. From paragraph 3.1 it was concluded that
annual retirements for the EU-14 shipbuilding industry constitute approximately 1% of the total
technical workforce. Based on these assumptions the EU-14 shipbuilding industry technical
workforce have to grow by 6% per year over the next ve years.
The annual need for technical employees in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry is represented in
Fig. 12. The expected annual need for technical employees is dominated by Romania and Poland.
Together they represent 46% of the total need in shipbuilding. Both, Romania and Poland have
seen a huge demographic shift in personnel over the last years.

19
0 500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000
Romania
Poland
United Kingdom
France
Netherlands
Germany
Croatia
Finland
Denmark
Spain
Italy
Malta
Portugal
Greece
Q4. need all levels sales
Q4. need all levels design
Q4. need all levels prod.

Figure 12: EU-14 shipbuilding expected annual need for technical personnel.
The annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at all education levels as presented in
Fig. 12 is also divided into the previously dened function groups:
sales and after sales : 3% of the shipbuilding need
design and engineering and : 17% of the shipbuilding need
work preparation and production : 80% of the shipbuilding need
The current distribution of the function groups in the European shipbuilding industry is as follows
(see also Fig. 9):
sales and after sales : 2% of the present technical workforce
design and engineering and : 12% of the present technical workforce
work preparation and production : 86% of the present technical workforce
The annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at all levels as presented in Fig. 12 can also
be divided by education level:
MSc/BSc level : 25% of the shipbuilding need
Vocational level : 74% of the shipbuilding need
Basic level : <1% of the shipbuilding need
The current distribution of the education levels in the European shipbuilding industry is as follows
(see also Fig. 7):
MSc/BSc level : 19% of the present technical workforce
Vocational level : 66% of the present technical workforce
Basic level : 15% of the present technical workforce
20
Apparently, in the next ve years, the EU-14 shipbuilding industry as a whole will put more
emphasis on sales and design at the expense of production activities. This corresponds with the
general trend in the European shipbuilding industry with regard to subcontracting production
activities. Also, the need for personnel at MSc/BSc level and vocational level is further increasing
in the next ve years. This conrms the trend of more high skilled employees in the shipbuilding
industry, especially in sales and design activities.
In the next paragraphs, we will look at the national gures in more detail with regard to the
relative annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at different education levels and for
different function groups.
Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at all levels. 7.1
The annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel is represented as a percentage of the present
number of technical employees working at certain education level or in a certain function group.
Representing the gures in this way gives insight into the growth rates of certain education levels
or function groups per country.
Fig. 13 indicates that the overall EU-14 shipbuilding need for technical personnel at all levels is
11%. More specically, the four countries with the highest annual need for technical shipbuilding
employees (i.e. Romania, Poland, United Kingdom, and The Netherlands) are responsible for 65%
of the total need for technical personnel in shipbuilding.
22%
17%
15%
14%
13%
11%
11%
10%
8%
7%
6%
6%
5%
4%
4%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Romania
Poland
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Malta
EU
Denmark
Finland
France
Portugal
Greece
Croatia
Spain
Germany
Italy
Q4. annual need all levels
Figure 13: Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at all education levels.
21
The high annual need for Romania and Poland is caused by the huge demographic shift of labour
force working in other countries over the last years. A possible explanation for the larger
need for technical personnel in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands is the relatively old
workforce in these countries (see Fig. 5). Another factor which plays a role is that both, the
shipbuilding industry in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, have a large share of so-
called other services which also require shipbuilding skills (see gure 1), such as mechanical
and electrical engineering. Nevertheless, next to Romania and Poland shipbuilding in the United
Kingdom and The Netherlands still has a relative high need for personnel at all levels.
Malta is also investing above average into shipbuilding personnel at all levels. Although some
doubts have been expressed about the future of the Maltese shipbuilding industry, this might
indicate a willingness to invest in the future of shipbuilding in Malta.
The Polish shipbuilding industry association Forum Okretowe estimates that 5,000 Polish people are
working in the Norwegian maritime industries. About 30% of these people are working in Norwegian
shipyards as shipbuilders, welders or pipetters. Many Polish shipbuilders are also employed in Germany,
the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Finland. (Source: Interview Forum Okretowe March 2008)
The Association of Finnish Marine Industries is a strong supporter of harmonization of the educational
and training system at all levels in Europe. There should be a harmonization of skills and also common
language training for skilled workers in Europe. Furthermore, an overview should be provided of what
shipbuilding education is available in Europe and at what level, leading to several certicates and/or
degrees. (Source: Interview AFMI April 2008)
Polish migration
Migration of Polish workers
The Romanian shipbuilding industry association Anconav conrmed that, over the last three years, the
Romanian shipbuilders have faced a huge migration of their workers to Europe and the United States
of America. This applies especially for workers in the age group of 30 to 45 years. It is estimated that
22
about 2,000-2,500 Romanian workers with piping, electrical and carpentry skills receive a working visa
for nine months to work in the USA every year. After nine months, they return to Romania for a period
of three months, and in the following year, the whole procedure starts all over again. Since the European
borders are now open to Romanian workers, many skilled workers have moved to work in Norway,
Finland, Italy, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands. It is estimated that 1,500-2,000 skilled workers
from the Romanian shipbuilding industry are presently working in another country in Europe. This does
not only apply to people working in production, but also to designers and engineers. (Source: Interview
ANCONAV March 2008)
Romanian migration
Migration of Romanian workers
The Croatian Shipbuilding Corporation is also facing the migration of production workers to Italy and
Germany. Lately, young and highly educated migrate to China and Korea as members of different expert
teams. Retraining people is a constant process including training of school dropouts for certain trades
like welders. Pipetters should at least have had training in the steel trades. However, the drain of higher
educated employees is the biggest problem. Scholarships are introduced with a study time of 5 years and
a xed contract for 10 years. (Source: Interview CSC March 2008)
23
Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at vocational level 7.2
The annual need for technical personnel at vocational level as represented in Fig. 14 differs only
slightly with Fig. 13, since the number of technical employees in shipbuilding with a vocational
training is dominant amounting to 65%. Next to Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and The
Netherlands, also Denmark has an above average need for technical personnel with a vocational
training. This can partly be explained by the relatively old workforce in Denmark.
42%
24%
19%
14%
13%
12%
9%
9%
8%
7%
6%
4%
4%
4%
3%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Poland
Romania
United Kingdom
Denmark
Netherlands
EU
Finland
France
Malta
Portugal
Croatia
Germany
Italy
Spain
Greece
Q6. annual need VOC


Figure 14: Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at vocational level
The focus on design and engineering at vocational level is clear for Denmark and The Netherlands
and to a lesser extent for Romania which also focuses on work preparation and production at
vocational level. Poland and United Kingdom primarily focus on work preparation and production
at vocational level. It is noted that Greece, Spain, Italy and Germany have a relatively low need
for people at vocational level ( 4%) that corresponds to the replacement requirements and is
not aiming at an increase of the workforce.
The French shipbuilding industry focuses on the recruitment of personnel able to reach qualication
at vocational level. Resources of interested persons for vocational education are rather low. The national
education system delivers low quantities of youngsters with the right starting qualications. Shipyards
have to work hard on these starting qualications and have to solve this national problem themselves.
The competences of youngsters with starting qualications, decreased over the years and at the same
time the number of youngsters, interested in technical professions at vocational level, has decreased.
(Source: Interview CSCN April 2008)
24
Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at MSc/BSc level 7.3
The annual need for Masters of Science and Bachelors of Science for the EU-14 shipbuilding
industry shown in Fig. 15 amounts to 15%. Taking the other needs for technical education into
account - all levels 11% and vocational training 12% - the future need for highly qualied people
is prominent. As a result, the future need for technical workers with only basic training has fallen
below 1%. This clearly conrms the European trend in shipbuilding only to work with technical
employees that have received proper education and training.
71%
37%
36%
23%
15%
15%
15%
14%
13%
9%
8%
7%
6%
6%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Poland
Netherlands
Malta
Greece
EU
Italy
Romania
United Kingdom
Finland
Portugal
Spain
France
Denmark
Germany
Croatia
Q5.annual need
MSC/BSC
Figure 15: Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel at MSc/BSc level
Figure 15 indicates that Poland, The Netherlands, Malta and Greece have a large need for people
with an MSc/BSc degree. Especially Poland shows very high rates of need for Masters and Bachelors
of Science in shipbuilding. Presently, 75% of the Polish people with a Masters or Bachelors degree
in shipbuilding are working in design and engineering activities, and only 18% is employed in work
preparation and production (See also Fig. 11).
The Polish shipbuilding industry association expressed a strong growth of specialised shipbuilding
design and engineering companies in Poland. The Polish shipbuilding industry, therefore, foresees
a future with many opportunities for employees at MSc/BSc level in design and engineering.
The need for people at MSc/BSc level in The Netherlands, Malta and Greece is also quite high.
At present, Malta has the lowest percentage of people at MSc/BSc level in Europe (4%), while
Greece has an almost average percentage (17%) (see also Fig. 7). However, both Greece and
Malta have a relatively low percentage of employees working in design and engineering (see also
Fig. 9). Apparently, Greece and Malta will have to catch up with the rest of Europe in terms of
shipbuilding design and engineering activities.
25
The Netherlands also has an average percentage of personnel at MSc/BSc level employed (19%)
(see also Fig. 7). However, currently only 55% of the employees with an MSc/BSc degree in Dutch
shipbuilding are active in design and engineering. Although this is still well above the European
average (43%), it is signicantly lower than, for instance, in the German shipbuilding industry (72%)
(see Fig. 11), which is often considered a benchmark.
The current demand for specialised shipbuilding activities like offshore, dredging, yachting, as well as
a focus on single ships or small series creates a large need for highly educated technical people in
design and engineering in The Netherlands.
Annual need for technical personnel in sales and after sales 7.4
Fig. 16 shows the EU-14 shipbuilding industry annual need for sales and after sales personnel at all
levels of education as compared to the present number of employees working in sales and after sales
at all levels of education.
84%
43%
20%
18%
15%
13%
13%
11%
8%
6%
6%
4%
4%
0%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Poland
United Kingdom
Malta
Netherlands
EU
Finland
Croatia
Spain
Portugal
Greece
France
Germany
Italy
Denmark
Romania
Q4. annual need all level sales
Figure 16: Annual need for technical shipbuilding personnel in sales and after
sales at all levels
The overall annual need for EU-14 shipbuilding technical personnel at all levels amounts to 11%
(see also Fig. 13). The overall annual need for EU-14 shipbuilding personnel in sales and after sales
activities at all levels is 15%. As already stated there is a relatively high emphasis on sales and after
sales activities in the years to come.
26
The need for sales and after sales employees is very high for Poland (84%) and also for the United
Kingdom (42%). Malta and The Netherlands also have an above average annual need for sales and
after sales personnel.
The very high gure for Poland can be explained by the fact that, at the moment, only 0.6% of
all technical employees in Poland are active in sales and after sales (see Fig. 9). In the United
Kingdom, too, only 1.1% of the technical staff is employed in sales and after sales. This is rather
low compared to the EU-14 shipbuilding average of 2%. This could explain the high gures for
Poland and United Kingdom.
Another reason for the above average need for sales and after sales personnel in The Netherlands,
Malta, the United Kingdom, and Poland is the high rate of repair and maintenance activities (see
also Fig. 1). Shipyards for repair and maintenance usually have more people working in sales and
after sales activities. Although France also has a large workforce active in repair and maintenance,
this primarily concerns national defence activities. This explains why France has a much lower
gure (6%).
27
Annual need for technical personnel in design and engineering 7.5
The EU-14 shipbuilding annual need for technical employees in design and engineering at all levels
is 15%. Again, this indicates that in the coming years the EU-14 shipbuilding industry will focus
on design and engineering. There are seven countries with an above average need for personnel:
i.e. Malta, Greece, Denmark, The Netherlands, Romania, Poland and Finland. For six countries, this
can be explained by the fact that, at present, only a small percentage of their technical workforce
(< 10%) is active in design and engineering (see also Fig. 9). The Netherlands, on the other hand,
already has 20% of its workforce active in design and engineering but still expresses an annual
need of 33% for its design workforce.
The Dutch shipbuilding industry states that, at present, high skilled employees are widely needed.
Unfortunately, the training of highly skilled workers takes at least four to ve years. The need for
employees in the production segment is regarded as mainly a short-term problem, although for specialised
sectors like the yacht building industry, repair and naval shipbuilding, the need for production workers
poses not only a short-term, but also a medium-term problem. The most critical factor, however, for the
Dutch shipbuilding industry is found in the area of design and engineering. (Source: Interview VNSI
March 2008)
The above statement is reected in Fig. 17.
135%
81%
34%
33%
29%
18%
18%
15%
13%
13%
12%
10%
9%
8%
7%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% 160%
Malta
Greece
Denmark
Netherlands
Romania
Poland
Finland
EU
United Kingdom
Croatia
Portugal
Spain
France
Italy
Germany
Q4. annual need all levels design
Figure 17: Annual need for technical personnel in design and engineering at all levels.
28
Annual need for technical personnel in work preparation and production 7.6
The EU-14 shipbuilding industry annual need for technical personnel in work preparation and
production at all education levels shown in Fig. 18 amounts to 10%. This is below the overall
annual need for the EU-14 shipbuilding technical personnel at all levels amounting to 11% (see
also Fig. 13).
Instead of focussing on the high need rates, the countries showing a continuous low rate of
annual need are evaluated, i.e. Germany and Italy. Measured by order book in CGT, Germany and
Italy are the largest shipbuilding countries in Europe. Nevertheless, both countries presented
very moderate annual needs.
The German shipbuilding association VSM conrms that the German shipbuilding industry has no
offensive strategy or plans to extend their production capacity in Germany. The prime HR focus of the
shipyards is the replacement of people and structural development. Subcontracting in Germany is not
limited to ship equipment, but also applies to ship design. The relatively low annual need for employees
at shipyards with a Master and Bachelor of Science degree (6%) compared to the EU-14 shipbuilding
industry (15%) can therefore be explained by the high level of co-operation between yards, equipment
manufacturers and engineering subcontractors. The annual need for MSc/BSc in shipbuilding for the
entire marine industry in Germany represented by VSM is about 700 people, while the annual need at
the shipyards is about 150 people. Many tertiary educated shipbuilders work at specialised design and
engineering companies or classication societies. (Source: Interview VSM April 2008)
22%
19%
15%
10%
10%
9%
9%
8%
8%
7%
5%
4%
4%
4%
3%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Romania
Poland
United Kingdom
EU
Malta
Denmark
Finland
Netherlands
France
Portugal
Croatia
Spain
Germany
Greece
Italy
Q4. annual need all levels prod.
Figure 18: Annual need for technical personnel in work preparation and production
at all levels
29
The Italian shipbuilding association Assonave explicitly expressed that the number of people working in the
shipbuilding industry is expected to remain stable over the next ve years. The Italian shipbuilders foresee
neither growth nor decline in personnel. The only need for technical personnel is due to retirement and
natural migration. Over the years, the Italian shipbuilding industry has increased its level of subcontracting
up to 70%. This also gives more exibility to the shipyards with regard to personnel. Croatia is Italys major
partner for the subcontracting of shipbuilding activities. (Source: Interview ASSONAVE April 2008)
Distribution of annual need per function group at vocational level 7.7
Since the need for unskilled labour in shipbuilding is reduced to practically zero and unskilled jobs
are gradually phasing out, no distribution of future functions for all levels of education is given, but
only the future distribution of functions at vocational level and MSc/BSc level. These graphs will
present a picture of the distribution of needs for certain functions in the next ve years.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Malta
Netherlands
Italy
Croatia
United Kingdom
France
Denmark
EU
Finland
Germany
Greece
Poland
Spain
Romania
Portugal
Q6. need VOC sales
Q6. need VOC design
Q6. need VOC prod.
Figure 19: Distribution of annual need per function group at vocational level.
Fig. 19 displays the distribution of different function groups at vocational level. The EU-14
shipbuilding industry average shows that 92% of the need at vocational level is found in the area
of work preparation and production, 7% in design and engineering and only 1% in sales and after
sales functions.
Comparing these results with the current distribution of technical functions at vocational level in
Fig. 10, the current EU-14 shipbuilding industry amounts to 91% in production, 8% in design and
1% in sales. This means that, at European level, the trend towards more sales and after sales as
well as design and engineering is caused by the changes in annual needs at MSc/BSc level.
30
Distribution of annual need per function group at MSc/BSc level 7.8
The distribution of annual need per function group at MSc/BSc level is totally different from the
one at vocational level and varies greatly per country. The EU-14 shipbuilding industry average
shows that 44% of the need at MSc/BSc level is to be found in the area of work preparation and
production, 49% in design and engineering and 7% in sales.
Comparing these results with the current distribution of technical functions for HRSTC in
Fig. 11, the current EU-14 shipbuilding industry average amounts to 49% in production, 43% in
design and 8% in sales. This means that at MSc/BSc level the need for sales and design increases at
the expense of production. Fig. 20 shows that on national level the differences can be considerably
larger.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Romania
Netherlands
Portugal
United Kingdom
Germany
Denmark
Italy
Greece
EU
Spain
France
Finland
Malta
Croatia
Poland
Q5. need MSC/BSC sales
Q5. need MSC/BSCdesign
Q5. need MSC/BSC prod.
Figure 20: Distribution of annual need per function group at MSc/BSc level.
31
Budgets for education and training 7.9
In order to gain insight in the shipbuilding budgets for education and training, shipyards were
asked to give an estimation of the annual budget for education and training. This appeared to be
more difcult than expected since national funding policies for vocational training differ greatly
and questions were raised on what should be included in this budget. The total EU-14 shipbuilding
industry budget is estimated at 80 million for about 100,000 technical employees. This results in
an annual budget per person of 800 Euro.
However, there was a large range of available budget per person, varying between 200 Euro per
person for developing countries and 2,000 Euro per person for countries with a high component
of naval shipbuilding activities. Unfortunately, the presented data turned out to be too inaccurate
to present gures at a national level or draw conclusions at a national level. Nevertheless, these
gures provide an estimate of the budget for education and training in the EU-14 shipbuilding
industry as well as an estimate of the available budget per person.
Fig. 21 gives an overview of the distribution of the education and training budget over the
different function groups and Fig. 22 presents an average budget per person in each of these
function groups.
Although the total budget for work preparation and production is by far the largest, followed by
design and engineering, the budget reservations per person are the highest for people working
in sales and after sales functions.
10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000
Q7.total budget sales
Q7.total budget design
Q7.total budget prod.

500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
Q7.budget p.p. sales
Q7.budget p.p. design
Q7.budget p.p prod.

Figure 21: Estimated annual budgets for EU-14 shipbuilding industry education
and training
10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000
Q7.total budget sales
Q7.total budget design
Q7.total budget prod.

500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
Q7.budget p.p. sales
Q7.budget p.p. design
Q7.budget p.p prod.

Figure 22: Estimated education and training budget per person per function group
32
Conclusions and recommendations 8.
Conclusions from HR statistics 8.1
The following conclusions can be drawn from the HR statistics received on the basis of the
questionnaires which were sent out to the national shipbuilding associations.
1. Size and demographics of the EU-14 shipbuilding industry
The European shipyards employ 127,500 people. About 103,000 people are dened as technical
employees (81%). The demographic situation with regard to age proles is for the EU-14
shipbuilding industry comparable to Europe as a whole. On national level, there are quite some
deviations from the European average.
2. EU-14 shipbuilding industry employs high-tech personnel
The EU-14 shipbuilding industry has more technical people employed holding an MSc/BSc degree
(19%) than the European average workforce (15%). This conrms the high-tech prole of the EU
shipbuilding industry.
3. EU-14 shipbuilding industry employs a highly educated and trained workforce
The EU-14 shipbuilding industry employs a high percentage of skilled technical personnel
at MSc/BSc level or vocational level (85%). Workers with only basic education are gradually
disappearing, since there is no need for unskilled labour in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry.
4. Ageing of shipbuilding personnel is a moderate problem
Based on the age proles of technical workforce in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry approximately
1% will retire on an annual basis over the next 10 to 15 years. For countries with a relatively old
workforce, this gure will amount to max. 2%.
5. Production is still the prime focus of the EU-14 shipbuilding industry
At present, the total technical workforce in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry is distributed into
the following functions groups: 2% in sales and after sales, 12 % in design and engineering and 86%
in work preparation and production. On national level there are considerable deviations from
this distribution.
6. EU-14 shipbuilding industry has a large annual need for technical employees
The need for technical employees in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry over the next 5 years
amounts to about 11,000 people per year. This is 11% of the present EU-14 shipbuilding technical
workforce. Retirements taken into account (minus 1%), the EU-14 shipbuilding workforce has
to grow by 10% per year in the next ve years. Considering an average migration of technical
employees between shipyards of about 4%, the EU-14 shipbuilding technical workforce still has
to grow by 6% per year.
33
7. EU-14 shipbuilding industry has a large need for employees at MSc/BSc level
The EU-14 shipbuilding technical workforce has a high need for technical employees at MSc/BSc
level (15%), an average need for technical employees at vocational level (12%) and no need for
unskilled labour (<1%).
8. EU-14 shipbuilding industry is shifting towards more sales and design activities
The future need for the total technical workforce in the EU-14 shipbuilding industry is distributed
into the following function groups: 3% in sales and after sales, 17% in design and engineering and
80% in work preparation and production. This indicates a stronger focus on sales and after sales
and on design and engineering at the expense of work preparation and production.
9. EU-14 shipbuilding education and training budgets are primarily reserved for production
Only general remarks are made on budgets for education and training, since there is a large variety
in education systems and funding and only limited data were available. The EU-14 shipbuilding
education and training budget is estimated at 80 million Euro per year and is distributed as
follows: work preparation and production (61%), design and engineering (33%) and sales and after
sales (6%). The average budget per person is 800 Euro, but varies greatly per country.
Conclusions and recommendations from statistics and HR interviews 8.2
Based on the statistics and HR interviews there are four major areas where European trends,
responses and actions are to be dened:
1. OUTSOURCING
Trend
Most European shipbuilding countries do not invest in extension of production capacity, but focus
on outsourcing. Several countries have mentioned the outsourcing of design and engineering
capacities, other countries are focusing on outsourcing of steelwork like modules, sections, and
even entire hulls. Forum Okretowe stressed that Polish state-owned yards are available for the
outsourcing of extra steelwork of European shipbuilders, but must rst await a decision of the
European Commission with regard to their state aid case.
Response
Many European countries are using skilled labourers from Poland and Romania to ll up their
production gaps. Sometimes, these people have a temporary employment at the shipyard, but
very often they are working for the shipyard via specialised subcontractors. For design and
engineering activities people do not necessarily have to work at or near the shipyard. Specialised
design and engineering companies are established in Poland and Romania working for shipyards
throughout the whole world.
Recommended European action
European shipbuilding countries propose the development of EU legislation for (temporary)
employment of skilled EU and non-EU workers in order to maintain a level playing eld.
Also, the European shipbuilding industry should develop principles for guaranteeing such a level
playing eld. The European Shipbuilding Social Dialogue Committee could be a platform to
develop these principles.
34
2. SHIPBUILDING IMAGE
Trend
In several European countries the image of shipbuilding is improving. Image campaigns are held
on European, national and company level at regular intervals. However, it is noticed that the
regular education system in most countries is not able to follow the quickly rising demand in
the shipbuilding industry. Although this seems logical, since the education of technical people
usually takes 2 to 5 years, the general impression of many countries is that the education system
is reacting too slowly.
Response
In order to further improve the image of shipbuilding and attract more employees image
campaigns are not only required on a national level, but also on a local or regional level by
individual companies active in the shipbuilding industry. The public opinion on shipbuilding in
Europe improves and the present shipbuilding boom offers opportunities to improve the image
even further. Shipbuilding companies are investing in training and education in creative ways like
company scholarships, in order to attract new employees.
Recommended European action
European actions to promote the shipbuilding industry are highly valued by the European
shipbuilding industry. It is regarded as an important task of the European Commission to support
social partners in raising public awareness and support for vital industries like shipbuilding.
3. SHIPBUILDING EDUCATION
Trend
The larger European shipbuilding countries in particular face a shortage of MSc/BSc students
in shipbuilding. Shipyards are starting to recruit students from other technical disciplines (e.g.
mechanical engineering, logistics, business administration and IT). For many European shipbuilding
countries, the recruitment of and requirements for vocational students remains a very important
issue. In general it was concluded that starting qualications for vocational students are too
low. In several countries the national education system does not provide sufciently qualied
technical people. People need to be trained on the job rst for about six months before they can
be used in production activities.
Response
Several European countries provided suggestions for the lack of highly educated shipbuilders at
MSc/BSc level and vocational students. An interesting development in German shipbuilding is the
development of a dual system of studies combining a vocational education with a Bachelors degree
for applied sciences. In four to ve years time the students, employed by the shipyards, follow
their course of studies with practical training phases on the shipyards. As a result, they can obtain
a double qualication as skilled worker and Bachelor of Science. In other countries, permanent
education and continuing learning lines or a wider education eld like Maritime Technology are
promoted. Some shipbuilding countries have also good experiences with European student and /
or knowledge exchange programs.
35
Recommended European action
Europe should facilitate the development of a European maritime design academy and a European
vocational education system and training program, including harmonization of educational and
training systems at all levels. Several shipbuilding countries demand a more pro-active approach
towards life long learning. In this respect, work pools are mentioned as well as tax benets for
shipyards involved in education on the job.
A huge work-force potential lying idle are women. So far, this potential has been highly neglected
and forgotten for too long and should not only be activated but also directly supported and
attracted to work in technical professions in general and shipbuilding in particular.
4. MIGRATION OF SKILLED WORKERS
Trend
Several countries are facing personnel problems due to the (temporary) migration of skilled
workers. Romania observes a migration of production and ofce employees to European
shipbuilding countries and the United States. Poland observes a migration of production workers
to European shipbuilding countries. Croatia observes a migration of production and ofce
workers to Italy and a migration of ofce workers to Korea, China and Japan.
Response
Polish, Romanian and Croatian shipbuilders can offer a solution to the lack of skilled labour in the
European shipbuilding industry. Since the vocational training in these countries is not tailor-made
for the shipbuilding industry, shipyards spend considerable time and money to train graduates
of vocational schools the proper shipbuilding skills. The development of training centres for
vocational training should be high on the European shipbuilding priority list.
Recommended European action
Financial support for the development of shipbuilding training centres is presently neither given
by national governments nor the European Commission. In this vacuum Europe should support
young people with a solid vocational training to become skilled workers. It is estimated that the
development of shipbuilding training centres in Eastern Europe will cost about 600.000 Euro per
training centre per year.
36
Annex 1: HR Research Study Working Group
Name Organisation
Mr. Henk van Beers EMF
Mr. Pieter t Hart Koers & Vaart
Mrs. Andrea Husen EMF
Mr. Marco Kirsenstein CESA
Mr. Reinhard Lken CESA
Mr. Ruud Schouten CESA
Mr. Fabrice Theobald CESA
Mrs. Heike Thomsen CESA
Mr. Andreas Veres EMF
37
T
E
C
H
N
I
C
A
L

P
R
O
F
E
S
S
I
O
N
S
E
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
n

s
y
s
t
e
m
A
v
e
r
a
g
e

a
g
e

o
f

s
t
a
r
t
i
n
g

e
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
n

D
e
g
r
e
e
L
E
V
E
L
T
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l

s
a
l
e
s

/
a
f
t
e
r

s
a
l
e
s
D
e
s
i
g
n
/
e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
i
n
g
W
o
r
k

p
r
e
p
a
r
a
t
i
o
n

/

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
U
n
i
v
e
r
s
i
t
y
o
r

C
o
l
l
e
g
e
1
8
+
U
n
i
v
e
r
s
i
t
y

(
M
s
c
)

o
r

C
o
l
l
e
g
e

(
B
s
c
)

D
e
g
r
e
e
H
i
g
h
-

s
a
l
e
s

d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l

s
a
l
e
s

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
p
o
s
a
l

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

e
s
t
i
m
a
t
o
r
s
-

a
f
t
e
r

s
a
l
e
s

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

a
c
c
o
u
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

c
u
s
t
o
m
e
r

r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

d
e
s
i
g
n

d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
i
n
g

d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

d
e
s
i
g
n

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
i
n
g

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

n
a
v
a
l

a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
s
-

d
e
s
i
g
n
e
r
s
-

s
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
a
l

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

l
e
a
d

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

w
o
r
k

p
r
e
p
a
r
a
t
i
o
n

d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

d
e
p
a
r
t
m
e
n
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

w
o
r
k

p
r
e
p
a
r
a
t
i
o
n

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

m
a
n
a
g
e
r

-

g
e
n
e
r
a
l

p
l
a
n
n
e
r
s

/

l
o
g
i
s
t
i
c

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
j
e
c
t

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

c
o
o
r
d
i
n
a
t
o
r
s
-

r
e
p
a
i
r

/

m
a
i
n
t
e
n
a
n
c
e

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
-

d
o
c
k
m
a
s
t
e
r
s
-

H
S
E

m
a
n
a
g
e
r
s
V
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l
t
r
a
i
n
i
n
g
1
6
+
V
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

C
e
r
t
i

c
a
t
e
(
b
e
l
o
w

B
s
c
)
M
e
d
i
u
m
-

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l

s
a
l
e
s

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t

e
s
t
i
m
a
t
o
r
s
-

a
f
t
e
r

s
a
l
e
s

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

a
c
c
o
u
n
t

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

c
u
s
t
o
m
e
r

r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

s
h
i
p
b
u
i
l
d
i
n
g

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

m
e
c
h
a
n
i
c
a
l

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

e
l
e
c
t
r
i
c
a
l

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
s
-

d
r
a
u
g
h
t
s
m
e
n

(
C
A
D
)
-

e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
i
n
g

p
l
a
n
n
e
r
s
-

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

w
o
r
k

p
r
e
p
a
r
a
t
i
o
n

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

p
l
a
n
n
e
r
/

l
o
g
i
s
t
i
c

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

f
o
r
e
m
e
n
-

s
h
i
p
w
r
i
g
h
t
s

/

m
a
s
t
e
r

s
h
i
p
b
u
i
l
d
e
r
s
-

m
a
s
t
e
r

c
r
a
f
t
s
m
e
n
-

r
e
p
a
i
r

/

m
a
i
n
t
e
n
a
n
c
e

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
-

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t

d
o
c
k
m
a
s
t
e
r
s
B
a
s
i
c

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l

t
r
a
i
n
i
n
g
N
o

V
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
C
e
r
t
i

c
a
t
e
B
a
s
i
c
-

s
h
i
p
b
u
i
l
d
i
n
g

d
r
a
u
g
h
t
s
m
e
n
-

m
e
c
h
a
n
i
c
a
l

d
r
a
u
g
h
t
s
m
e
n
-

e
l
e
c
t
r
i
c
a
l

d
r
a
u
g
h
t
s
m
e
n
-

m
e
t
a
l
w
o
r
k
e
r
s

/

s
t
e
e
l

f
r
a
m
e

w
o
r
k
e
r
s
-

a
s
s
e
m
b
l
i
n
g

o
p
e
r
a
t
o
r
s
/
s
t
e
e
l

s
h
a
p
e
r
s
-

w
e
l
d
e
r
s
-

c
u
t
t
i
n
g

m
e
c
h
a
n
i
c
s
-

t
t
e
r
s

/

p
i
p
e

t
t
e
r
s
/
p
l
u
m
b
e
r
s
-

e
l
e
c
t
r
i
c
i
a
n
s
-

c
a
r
p
e
n
t
e
r
s
-

m
a
i
n
t
e
n
a
n
c
e

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
i
a
n
s

-

s
e
r
v
i
c
e

t
e
c
h
n
i
c
i
a
n
s
-

d
o
c
k
i
n
g

a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
Annex 2: Glossary of terms & questionnaire
Glossary of terms of major professions in the shipbuilding & ship repair industry
38
QUESTIONNAIRE CESA / EMF HR Research Study
Demographic Change and Skills Requirements.
GEN. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. Name of shipyard EU-14 shipbuilding Industry
B. Location
C. Country
D. Total number of employees 127.587
D.1 Number of employees for new building of ships 100.583
D.2 Number of employees for repair / maintenance 21.730
E. Name contact person
F. E-mail contact person
G. Tel. no. contact person
PR. PRESENT SITUATION AT THE SHIPYARD Under 25 years
old
25-40 years old 41-55 years old Over 55 yrs
old
1.a
What is the number of technical employees ( all levels of
education) for the various age groups?
11.331 36.907 41.456 13.389
1.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
1.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 63 741 839 336
1.b.2 Design/engineering: 683 4878 5036 1769
1.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 10416 30838 34584 10853
2.a
What is the total number of technical employees with a college
or university degree (Bsc or Msc level).
17816
2.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
2.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 1337
2.b.2 Design/engineering: 7311
2.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 8450
3.a
What is the total number of technical employees with a
vocational certicate (below Bsc level).
67835
3.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
3.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 568
3.b.2 Design/engineering: 5677
3.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 60705
39
GEN. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. Name of shipyard EU-14 shipbuilding Industry
B. Location
C. Country
D. Total number of employees 127.587
D.1 Number of employees for new building of ships 100.583
D.2 Number of employees for repair / maintenance 21.730
E. Name contact person
F. E-mail contact person
G. Tel. no. contact person
PR. PRESENT SITUATION AT THE SHIPYARD Under 25 years
old
25-40 years old 41-55 years old Over 55 yrs
old
1.a
What is the number of technical employees ( all levels of
education) for the various age groups?
11.331 36.907 41.456 13.389
1.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
1.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 63 741 839 336
1.b.2 Design/engineering: 683 4878 5036 1769
1.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 10416 30838 34584 10853
2.a
What is the total number of technical employees with a college
or university degree (Bsc or Msc level).
17816
2.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
2.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 1337
2.b.2 Design/engineering: 7311
2.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 8450
3.a
What is the total number of technical employees with a
vocational certicate (below Bsc level).
67835
3.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
3.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 568
3.b.2 Design/engineering: 5677
3.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 60705
NEED
EXPECTED AVERAGE ANNUAL NEED FOR
TECHNICAL PERSONNEL OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS
(2008- 2012)
4.a
What is the average annual need for technical employees over the
next 5 years (all levels of education):
11163
4.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
4.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 304
4.b.2 Design/engineering: 1899
4.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 8817
5.a
What is the average annual need for technical employees over
the next 5 years with a college or university education (Bsc or
Msc level)
2719
5.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
5.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 204
5.b.2 Design/engineering: 1309
5.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 1176
6.a
What is the average annual need for technical employees over
the next 5 years with a vocational certicate (below Bsc level).
8189
6.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this number of technical
employees in the following categories:
6.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 79
6.b.2 Design/engineering: 583
6.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 7521
BUDG.
EXPECTED ANNUAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
BUDGET OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS (2008- 2012)
7.a
What is the expected average annual education and training
budget for technical employees over the next 5 years (all levels of
education):
80521
7.b
Please give an indication (in %) of this budget division for technical
employees in the following categories:
7.b.1 Technical sales/after sales: 6%
7.b.2 Design/engineering: 32,6%
7.b.3 Work preparation/Production: 61,4%
40
Annex 3: List of interviewed persons
Name Organisation Country
Mrs. Rajka Borcic-Mihov Croatian Shipbuilding Cooperation Croatia
Mrs. Jaguda Bulat Brodosplit Shipyard Croatia
Mr. Zoran Butic Brodotrogir Shipyard Croatia
Mrs. Nadja Dijan 3M Maj Shipyard Croatia
Mrs. Ljubica Linardic Viktor Lenac Shipyard Croatia
Mr. Ivo Martinovic Croatian Shipbuilding Cooperation Croatia
Mr. Neven Pajdas Croatian Shipbuilding Cooperation Croatia
Mrs. Tonka Radnic Brodosplit Shipyard Croatia
Mr. Cvjetko Vretenar Uljanik Shipyard Croatia
Mrs. Jenny Braat Danish Maritime Denmark
Mrs. Maria Hamm Odense Steel Shipyard Denmark
Mr. Lars Hensen Odense Steel Shipyard Denmark
Mr. Jeppe Orskov Orskov Yard Denmark
Mr. Arto Helin Aker Finnyards Finland
Mr. Ari Rajamaki Aker Finnyards Finland
Mrs. Merja Salmi-Lindgren Association of Finnish Maritime Industries Finland
Mrs. Beatrice Gouriou Aker Yards France France
Mr. Michel Ollier DCNS France
Mr. Fabrice Theobald Chambre Syndicale des Chantiers Navals France
Mr. Heino Bade IG Metall Germany
Mr. Alexander Geisler Verband fur Schiffbau und Meerestechnik Germany
Mr. Volker Karpen Verband fur Schiffbau und Meerestechnik Germany
Mr. Joachim Kell ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Germany
Mr. Erwin Kiel Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Germany
Mr. Ralph Soeren Marquardt Verband fur Schiffbau und Meerestechnik Germany
Mr. Livio Marchesini ASSONAVE Italy
Mr. Pierfrancesco Tartarelli Fincantieri Italy
Mr. Timo Bindels IHC Merwede Netherlands
Mr. Ruud van den Bergh FNV Netherlands
Mr. Marco Kirsenstein Shipbuilding Netherlands Netherlands
Mr. Charles van de Loo Damen Shipyards Netherlands
Mr. Nick van Putten Heesen Yacht Builders Netherlands
Mr. Bert van der Sluis IHC Merwede Netherlands
Mr. J. Teensma Damen Shipyards Netherlands
Mr. J. Czuczman Forum Okretowe Poland
Mr. Nuno Ivo de Magalhaes AIM Portugal
Mr. Pimentel das Neves ENVC Portugal
Mr. Jose Ventura de Sousa AIM Portugal
Mr. Florin Spataru Damen Shipyards Galati Romania
Mr. Gelu Stan ANCONAV Romania
Mr. Jose Belon Lopez MCA-UGT Spain
Mr. Enrique Calvet Chambon UNINAVE Spain
Mr. Ramon Lopez Eady UNINAVE Spain
Mr. Jose Luis Gacio Caeiro MCA-UGT Spain
Mr. Manuel Garcia Gonzalez MCA-UGT Spain
Mr. Javier Leguina Gogenola ELA metal Spain
Mr. Joseba Postigo Gonzalez Astilleros La Naval Spain
Mr. Jesus Querol Pascual UNINAVE Spain
Mr. Juan Rojo Gerencia del Sector Naval Spain
Mr. Pedro Lorca CCOO Spain
Mr. Vicente Sanchis Belmonte Astilleros De Sevilla Spain
Mr. Jim McHarg BAE Systems United Kingdom
European Metalworkers Federation
International Trade Union House (ITUH)
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)
B-1210 Brussels
Phone.: +32.2.227.10.10
Fax: +32.2.217.59.63
E-mail: emf@emf-fem.org
Website: www.emf-fem.org
Community of European Shipyards Associations
Rue Marie de Bourgogne 52-54
B-1000 Brussels
Phone: +32.2.230.27.91
Fax: +32.2.230.43.32
E-mail: info@cesa.eu
Website: www.cesa.eu
European Metalworkers Federation
International Trade Union House (ITUH)
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)
B-1210 Brussels
Phone.: +32.2.227.10.10
Fax: +32.2.217.59.63
E-mail: emf@emf-fem.org
Website: www.emf-fem.org
Community of European Shipyards Associations
Rue Marie de Bourgogne 52-54
B-1000 Brussels
Phone: +32.2.230.27.91
Fax: +32.2.230.43.32
E-mail: info@cesa.eu
Website: www.cesa.eu
Study executed by Koers & Vaart www.koersenvaart.nl
Pictures used with courtesy of Aker Yards; Lars Skaaning and Odense Steel Shipyard; Aker Yards France;
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH; Meyer Werft; ECSA (clockwise).
Graphic Design: Creatin